The title says it all. I post an original photo (nearly) every day, and write a few comments on each one. They're not all great photos, and they don't all show perfect photographic technique (I'm way too fond of chance and happy accidents to always aim for perfection). I hope they are all interesting.

Monday, August 31, 2009

This may not be the best photo in terms of technique, but I like it. It was shot in Amsterdam, on the edge of the red light district. I love the reflections of the light on the water, and I love the blur seen in the moving canal tour boat. This photo makes this part of Amsterdam look pretty good. Amsterdam is a beautiful city, but the red light district is a little grubbier, more run down, and packed with tourists than the rest of the city. Don't let that stop you from going, should you ever visit Amsterdam. The red light district is a must see (especially at night, when the red lights and lots of neon are visible), it's just not an area to spend a lot of time in.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I like this photo a lot. It was taken on the viewing platform at the top of Coit Tower in San Francisco on a rainy afternoon, not long after my flight back to Chicago was canceled due to the rain. With an extra day in the city, I climbed the steep streets to the top of Telegraph Hill and went to the top of the tower to shoot.

There are plexiglas panels covering the window openings at the top of Coit Tower, and visitors have pushed coins through the small space between them and the concrete walls. I used a long depth of field to make sure both the coins and the buildings of downtown San Francisco were both in focus.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Lenin, in statue form at the Communist Sculpture Park in Budapest. The song lyric that titles this post pops into my head whenever I look at this photo. Anyone care to guess what the song is? No cheating!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Over the past month or so, I've posted several photos taken at the Marin Headlands. What can I say, it's an extremely photogenic place. This one was taken high on a bluff, with the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco in the background. I would love to go shoot there again. I'm in San Fransisco every couple of years (I have family there), so a return to the Marin Headlands is likely.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

This photo was shot (with a 35mm film camera, not digital) during a visit to Zion National park in Utah in 2000. I've always liked this photo and the dark, backlit foreground contrasted with the colors on the canyon walls in the background.

Friday, August 14, 2009

This is one of those photos of random things that catch your eye. There's no big meaning behind it, I just liked how it looked through the viewfinder. Shot in an elementary school in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood last June.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Here's another photo of one of the old bunkers in the Marin Headlands. I've posted a couple other photos of these recently, you can see them if you go back a few posts. It's a really beautiful area; the abandoned bunkers accentuate the amazing views in an interesting way.

Monday, August 10, 2009

It's been a while since I posted one of these. This is a photo I shot of an architectural model for the Art Institute of Chicago's new modern wing, which opened last spring. I made a lot of photos of these models, some of which wound up as cyanotype prints (you can read about my adventure shooting the models here). I'm hoping to shoot in the new wing this fall, once the excitement (and huge crowds) die down some. I'm hoping that shooting in the actual building will give me an interesting set of images to compare with the photos of the model.

Friday, August 7, 2009

You're looking at a Holgarama (a panorama made with shots from a Holga camera) of the intersection of Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco, the famous epicenter of hippie culture in the '60's. That building with the blue awning near the center is a Ben & Jerry's ice cream store. I've always wanted to go in and ask them if they sell more Cherry Garcia there than at other Ben & Jerry's locations. Maybe next time I'm in San Francisco.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

This is a sign outside of a bowling alley (which I'm not sure is still open) on Western Ave. at about 79th St. in Chicago. I took this photo with my Holga camera while on my bike a couple of years ago.

I made a cyanotype print of this photo not too long after I shot it. Here's what it looks like:

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Confusion Hill is one of many tourist traps which line Highway 101 in Northern California in and around the giant redwood groves. This is one of those 'mystery spot' places, basically a ramshackle cabin perched at an odd angle on a hillside which fosters visual illusions about size and angle of objects. I didn't take the tour, I just hit the gift shop here. There were no tacky postcards to be found (I collect them), and their t-shirts were badly designed (I like t-shirts from tourist traps).

A couple days (and a few hour's drive) after visiting Confusion Hill, I saw the real thing: The Oregon Vortex, the very first of the mystery spots. This time, I actually paid the nine dollars and went inside, figuring it was worth it just for the history of the place. It was a dud, and the visual illusions were pretty unimpressive. I'm still glad I went, a cheesy tourist trap is a good palate cleanser from all the natural beauty in the northwest! They didn't have any tacky postcards, either, and their t-shirts were pretty uninspiring as well (but better than the ones at Confusion Hill).

Saturday, August 1, 2009

The new issue of F-Stop Magazine is now online. They published two of my photos. To see them, click on the link, then on the group exhibit (titled 'Amusements'). My photos are in the bottom row, on the right hand side. While you're there, take a look at the work by other photographers. There's some good work there.

Here is a Holga camera photo of a generic 60's apartment building in Naperville, IL. I like this photo quite a bit. There's just something about 50's and 60's era buildings that works when shot with a crappy Holga.

A Photo A Day

The title says it all. I post an original photo (nearly) every day, and write a few comments on each one. They're not all great photos, and they don't all show perfect photographic technique (I'm way too fond of chance and happy accidents to always aim for perfection). I hope they are all interesting.

Click on any photo to see a larger version.

Check out Lightbender, my other blog. It’s where I show my more serious work, discuss work in progress, and post about art in general.

Visit the Lightbender Shop at Etsy.com where you will find handmade bookmarks and other inexpensive art pieces.